TEMECULA  The "thwack" of a mallet solidly striking a ball. The pounding of hooves. A crowd cheering a deftly placed pass or a game-winning goal.

Those sounds are coming to the Galway Downs equestrian center later this year when the Temecula Valley Polo Club begins its inaugural season of events.

The club -- which includes members from Temecula, Wine Country, Murrieta and other local cities -- was formed last year after the owner of Galway Downs, Ken Smith, converted the infield of the center's racetrack into a regulation-sized, 300-yard-by-160-yard polo field.

A week ago the club was certified by the United State Polo Association, which will allow it to host clinics and start a polo school to introduce the sport to novice riders, said Geraldine Strunsky, president and co-founder of the club.

Strunsky announced the recent certification to applause at a reception held at Galway Downs on Friday to preview the upcoming May through October season and allow people to check out the new field, which should be green and vibrant come spring.

She was joined by Robert Kellerhouse, the center's manager; Scott Walker, the lieutenant governor of the USPA and the club's director; and board members.

"It's a treat to see this place going where it should be," Kellerhouse said, talking about now-abandoned plans of years ago to turn the center into a housing tract.

The club was formed, Strunsky said, to give local nonprofits and charities a different way to raise money for their causes.

The idea is that they will schedule events at the center on evenings or weekends and tailgate, socialize and watch the club's members play.

Walker said Strunsky already has lined up about six or seven different nonprofits that are interested in partnering on events.

In addition, the club plans to form teams and invite some of the other Southern California clubs into town for competitions. Walker said there are around 600 rated polo players in the state and the association is looking to boost those numbers in coming years.

The addition of the field in Temecula, in particular, is a great leg up toward that goal, he said, given that it's been decades since the last new field opened in California.

"Temecula is the right place," Walker said, noting the large number of horse owners who live near the center and its proximity to Wine Country.

During the charity events, the main draw will be the beauty of the game serving as a colorful and exciting backdrop.

But Walker said someone from the club also will help explain the nuances of the game to give people who are unfamiliar with the sport enough insight to notice strategies, understand whistles and stoppages, and appreciate good plays.

Providing an example, Walker said there are rules that govern how and when a rider can strike the ball. In the event a rider cuts off another player, play is halted.

Tho rules are designed, he said, primarily for the safety of the animals.

"There's a lot of love and money in these horses," he said. "They're a part of the family."

Putting together a polo team -- in the version that will be played at Galway a team is made up of four riders -- is a sort of art, Walker said.

The co-ed teams all feature at least one pro and up to three amateurs.

Walker said it's the sporting equivalent of a basketball owner playing alongside the members of his team: Mark Cuban taking the floor with Vince Carter, Dirk Nowitski, etc.

"That's the fun part," he said.

The trick is to try to get the net total of the handicaps roughly equal to produce an even match-up against an opposing team.

"You try to find the magic: people who play well, and get along, together," he said.

Walker, a Murrieta resident, has been playing since the early 1990s and he said he is looking forward to playing closer to home after years of traveling to find matches.

At the Hawaii polo club, Walker said events there, played on a field overlooking the ocean, typically attract thousands of spectators. In Indio, the crowds are bolstered with snowbirds from Canada who soak in the sun while enjoying the spectacle of the matches.

In Temecula, Walker said, he expects the crowds could average from 200 to 400 people.

If the club grows as expected, he said, the crowds should grow along with membership. To help foster the sport with youths, he said the club plans to start a program that would allow local teens to learn to play, moving them from a dirt training circle to the field as they progress.

For people who think the sport is the domain of blue bloods and royals, Walker said he has played alongside a host of folks from different backgrounds.

"School teachers, truck drivers, business owners, attorneys, doctors ..." he said, reeling off the types of people he has met on the polo field. "It's an eclectic, interesting group of people that gravitates toward polo."